Cafe of Love
by Light Demon 15
Summary: The Cafe of Love! *yes yes I know that it isn't Christmas or anything like that but I really wanted to put this up* DracoHermioneTheo


**Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter. Miss J.K. Rowling does!**

"Wait up Lavender!"

"No! They have scented pinecones!"

"Come on Monica! You're falling behind!"

"Shut up Kayla, I'm going home."

"Hot cocoa! Get your hot cocoa!"

"But Mom! Everyone in my class will have one!"

"Stop your pulling and I'll get you it!"

"Yo! Asshole! Slow the fuck down!"

"The 90% off sale ends in 30 minutes!"

"Ginny! Look at this!"

"Ronald Weasley! You get back here and apologize to the little boy you knocked over!"

"Adam! Watch out for tha-!…Roasted chestnut cart…"

"Harry! Are you even listening to me?"

It wasn't hard for Hermione to ignore all the clamor around her as she trudged through the snow covered street. All she had to think of was her empyrean. Her holy place. Her one sanctuary.

The library.

She had just finished reading _Jane Eyre_ and was itching to get another book. The novel hadn't been much of a page turner but she didn't regret checking it out. The brunette was brought out of her thoughts of the book by a passing pedestrian bumping shoulders with her. The short boy ran to catch up with a group of other teens, ignorant of the fact that he should have apologized to Hermione.

"Merlin, Christmas is such a pain." She muttered to herself. Every year it was the same thing. People rushed to purchase last minute presents. Almost everything was closed for the holiday. Women fought over the last cashmere sweater. Products were all mint scented or flavored. Houses were filled with family, friends, and food. Christmas specials on _every _channel. Huge lines for children to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they want under their tree.

It got a little old after a while. Of course the fact that she was always alone on Christmas didn't contribute to her dislike for the holiday.

A snowflake slowly floated down and landed on the tip of her nose, melting immediately. The feeling was most unwelcome to her already frostbitten body. Hermione glared up at the sky when she noticed that more frozen water droplets were falling to the ground. The brunette shrugged her coat closer to herself and plodded on.

'_ding ding-ding'_

She raised her head and looked for what was making the ringing sound. Hermione realized that a nearby charity Santa was clanging a bell to catch peoples attention. Suddenly a gust of snow-carrying wind blew into the chocolate-eyed girls face.

The once calm air became restless and whipped around her. The crisp, biting air brought a flaming sensation to her eyes. Hermione clenched her orbs shut to protect them from the wind. Acuity lost, the brunette blindly tried to find shelter from the sudden blizzard.

After a few minutes of the white chaos blowing around her, she felt a relief from the icy wind. Slowly opening her eyes she saw that a small building squished between larger ones was the object blocking the harsh breeze. The snow seemed to drift around the building but not fall to the sidewalk in front of the structure. Almost as if an invisible bubble surrounded it. On a sign hanging over the door of the short building were the word's "Karla's Coffee Café."

"_A coffee shop?"_ Hermione asked herself skeptically. She was about to move on and try to get home when a strong gust of wind came from behind her, pushing the brunette towards the small shop's door. Not wanting to have to stay outside in the horrible weather, Hermione stepped forward and entered the coffee shop.

"Welcome to Karla's." Was the first thing she heard once through the shop's door. Suddenly, Hermione was overwhelmed with the aroma of cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, and many other pleasant scents. Remembering that someone had spoken, the brunette looked around for the owner of the voice. She realized that the speaker had been the young, dark-haired man behind the counter at the back of the shop.

"Yo." He said with a raise of his hand.

"Hello. Um, I just came in to-"

"Get out of the blizzard?" He interrupted, pulling a small green-covered book from under the counter.

"Yeah." Hermione replied, embarrassed at having only come into a shop for shelter rather than to buy something.

"You can stay as long as you like Miss. I wouldn't want to be out in that weather either." Hermione then noticed that the mouth and nose region of the man's face was covered by a rather large scarf. She ignored this and forced a smile to come to her chapped lips.

"Thank you so much. I'm Hermione Granger by the way. Are you the owner of the shop?"

"Its no problem Hermione. No, actually I'm a friend of Karla's. She asked me to watch the shop while she went out to get some Christmas dinner groceries. Blaise Zabini's the name."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Blaise." Hermione stood awkwardly in the middle of the shop, looking around.

Blaise looked up from his book to glance at the brunette.

"You can sit down if you like." Red dusted Hermione's cheeks at not thinking of that earlier. She walked over to one of the many tables and plopped down in a chair.

The shop-watcher turned a page in his book before looking up at the only other occupant of the café.

"I'll get you something warm to drink, on the house." Blaise made his way to the cupboard behind him to get some ingredients.

"N-no, its alright. You don't have to Blaise." The chocolate-eyed young woman said, waving her hands back and forth in front of her.

"Please, Hermione. You look paler than a piece of paper. And by the look of things, you are going to sneeze in about two seconds."

Right on cue the brunette sneezed. "Now, coffee or tea?"

"Tea please." Hermione said, defeated and embarrassed.

Blaise grinned behind his scarf and started making the beverage.

Not five minutes later he brought the piping hot cup over to her.

"It's Tiger Spice Chai Tea, it's like Christmas in your mouth." Hermione was skeptic at drinking the steaming hot concoction when he described it like that, but another sneeze made her change her mind. The brunette reached for the cup and slowly brought it to her lips.

Color came back to her face and she sighed in contentment, the tea was a benison to her frozen body and was tasty to boot. "_Mmm, cinnamon."_ Blaise grinned once more and made his way to the counter to get back to his book. Two minutes later he spoke, not looking up from the novel.

"So Hermione, how's the tea?" His reply was a sigh of pleasure.

"It's-" Before the brunette could say another word the door to the shop burst open.

"Oh, well now. Welcome to Karla's. Long time no see."

He just didn't understand. Draco didn't get what was so special about the joy of a fat man in a red suit breaking into your house via chimney to leave behind gifts and eat your cookies and drink your milk now that he was older. Year after year he had watched as the people around him scattered to get everything ready for Christmas. He observed as the families of his friends made plans for the holiday and sat down to enjoy each other's company.

He had once been able to do that. His mother, father, and dear grandmother Olivia had gathered around the Christmas tree, exchanged gifts, and ate everything that his mother and grandmother had made. Of course this had all been when he was about five or six, before his parents had died. Christmas had never been the same after they left him forever. Sure, grandmother had tried to recreate the good times, but in the end…well. He was fairly happy during these Christmas's with his grandmother but that all ended the night she passed away. From that moment on Christmas and any other holiday was so depressing to him that he didn't celebrate it unless absolutely necessary. Besides, he could barely remember those joyful days, the memories came in quick flashes then swiftly left him.

His heart clenched as a passing family of three passed by him. The mother and father were swinging the small boy back and forth, laughing loudly. For a moment the boy and the father's hair turned pale blond and the mother's dirty blond. He saw his parents and himself. They quickly changed back to a brown and dark haired couple with a brown haired son when he looked away from the heart wrenching scene.

He looked to the sky and noticed that it was beginning to snow. Draco ignored this and trudged on. A little girl ran by him, bells on her headband jingling.

'_ding-ding-ding, ding-ding-ding'_

Before he knew it he was trapped in a freak blizzard. Draco was about to give up all hope and believe that he truly _was_ going _**to die **_there on that street. _"Goyle, I'm sorry for all those times that I smacked you upside the head, whacked the back of your skull with a rolled up magazine, and that time I put dog treats in your pocket to make Crabbe's dog chase after you; but if you touch (sell) any of my things I will haunt you for the rest of your life…that or come back as either a snake and kill you or a cat and stay outside your apartment window and make every night a living hell by meowing - hoarse and grating." _

Suddenly a light broke through the blinding, snowy winds. It was as if the gods had sent a road down to Draco to bring him up to heaven. The pale blond swore he heard angels sing "Halleluiah!" in the background when the snow parted to reveal a small building. He swiftly plodded over the building, he looked up at the sign hanging over the door.

"Karla's? I haven't been here in forever. I hope Karla wouldn't mind me waiting out the storm in her café." Draco muttered to himself. He had gone to high school with the dark haired girl and had been at the opening ceremony of her shop, he kept in touch over the years and occasionally stopped by. The blond remembered that according to a recent letter from her that she was currently engaged to a Blaise Zabini (another past classmate). _"I bet she will be surprised to see me." _

He brought his glove-covered hands to the handle of the door and pushed.

Nothing happened.

He applied more force and tried again.

Same outcome as the last.

"Damn door's frozen shut."

He took a step back and readied himself to ram the door open.

"One."

Draco braced himself. "Two."

The blond took a deep breath. "Three."

And ran forward, effectively causing the door to burst open and allow snow to drift in.

"Oh, well now. Welcome to Karla's. Long time no see."

Draco looked up to find the owner of the familiar voice. He quickly sighted the dark haired speaker.

"Blaise?"

"Yo." The addressed man answered with a raise of his hand.

"Where's Karla?" The blond asked, confused.

"She had to step out for a bit, so I'm watching the shop. Haven't seen you in a while, what brings you here?" Blaise asked as he turned a page in his book. Draco gave him a blank look.

"There is a blizzard outside."

"Oh yeah." The be-scarfed man rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, you're not the only one to have to come in here for shelter." The dark haired male added. It was then that Draco noticed the brown haired young woman sitting at a table not far from him. He swiftly walked over to her and gave a curt bow.

She nodded her head in answer, a small smile upon her lips.

Because of the intense manner-training that his mother (then grandmother) had beaten into him at a young age, Draco took the chocolate eyed girls hand in his and brought it to his lips.

"I am Draco Malfoy. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Hermione watched as Blaise talked to the blond newcomer. She could tell by their conversation that they were friends, or at least acquaintances. It wasn't long before the blond man noticed Hermione and came to stand in front of her. He bowed once and the brunette nodded in return. The male was very handsome and had an almost feminine air around him. Hermione could feel the corners of her mouth tweaking upward. She was a little startled when he took her hand in his. The brunette blushed profusely when he _kissed _her hand. _"H-he's such a gentleman."_

"H-Hermione Granger. I'm pleased to meet you too, Draco."

Behind them Blaise was giggling behind his scarf. _"This is so adorable! If they get a little more intimate it could be like Paradise, only live!" _The dark haired man noticed that they were staring at each other, never breaking eye contact. He grinned behind his mask, _"This could be fun." _

"Hey Draco, do you want something warm to drink?" The blond finally released the brunette's hand to glance up at Blaise. "Yes, please, Blaise." Draco straightened up and took a seat across from Hermione.

"You still like blueberries?" Blaise asked, peaking around the corner of the coffee maker. He nodded to himself when Draco answered _"Yes."_

"So Hermione, do you come here often?" Hermione was about to laugh at the familiar line but the expression on his face showed that Draco was serious, that he wasn't trying to be funny.

"No, I've actually never been here before." Blaise inconspicuously set Draco's tea on the table and scurried off to his book. Draco took a sip of the tea and continued talking to Hermione.

The two had a long conversation that was only interrupted by Blaise refilling their drinks. They found out that they liked the same type of music, both hated politics, and that they each had never had eggnog. The blond learned that she was getting her doctor's degree currently, when she wasn't at class she was writing stories on her laptop that she wished to get published someday.

The brunette found out that he is in business. Hermione was really enjoying the company of the dashing blond, and Draco was now glad that the blizzard had started. They had only been in the shop for about an hour or two but it seemed like it a lot more than that.

Suddenly, for the second time that day, the door burst open. But this time a practically frozen man walked, er, shuffled through the open doorway.

"H-h-h-h-h-h-h-hel-l-l-l-o, I-I-I h-h-hop-p-pe y-you d-d-d-don't-t-t-t m-min-n-nd m-me p-p-pas-s-s-s-s-s-sing o-out i-in y-y-your sh-sh-shop." And he did just that.

He hated it. He _fucking __**hated **_it. Theodore Nott was walking along a busy snow covered street glaring at any and all white particles that happened to catch his eye. Snow was the one thing in this world that he couldn't stand. He was ok with water; he accepted the fact that he needed it to survive. Hell, the cold was just fine and dandy once in a while. But frozen water? Hell no.

He was born and raised in a warm climate. A fucking _warm climate _for Christ sake! The winters in his hometown were a little wet with rain but it never got anywhere near this cold.

The brunette sneezed. Great! Now he was getting sick from being in this weather that he was so unaccustomed to! _"Damn, Marie. Damn her and her fucking eggnog. What the hell is eggnog any way?" _Yes, it was true. The reason behind poor Theo's misery was his older sister. She had sent him out into the cold to retrieve a carton of eggnog. _"She should have just sent Allan." _His teeth were chattering, his nose was red, and he was pretty sure that there were icicles forming on the end of his eye lashes. He just wanted to go home.

Theo watched the people passing him, the poor pedestrians thought that he was glaring at him and quickly scurried away from the brooding brunette. A passing couple hurried past him and into a nearby shop, the bell over the door rang from the disturbance.

'_ding-ding, ding-ding'_

He ignored the small sound and plodded on. The wind picked up and suddenly a blizzard was born. Theo's miserable day was now utterly wretched. The brunette was blindly trying to find some sort of equanimity from the wild storm. He was frozen to the bone and was bound to catch his death. Theo was pretty sure he had been out in the blizzard for over an hour and knew that he was going to die.

"_Marie, if you can hear me, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. If you ever go into my room to remember me after I die today; look under my bed, you'll find a large stash of cash. Don't give it to Allan, use it for food and stuff. Oh, and hit Allan for me, because I know it was him that accidentally tore the head off of my little panda plushie when we were little."_

Theo shuffled over to the left and leaned on a wall as he violently shivered. He looked up at all of the closed shops. One caught his eye. The windows of this certain shop were aglow, meaning it…was…OPEN! The brunette was probably delusional but he didn't care. With a smile upon his face that made him look drugged he stumbled to the door of the small building. He pushed the door but it stayed shut. He pushed again and once more it yielded.

"N-n-n-no." Theo would have started crying if his tear ducts weren't currently frozen. He slumped against the doors and sighed. Suddenly the door burst open and it took all Theo was worth not to fall. Warm air caressed his face and the brunette sighed a sigh of relief. He slowly made his way through the door way. He could see other people but that didn't really register in his mind.

"H-h-h-h-h-h-h-hel-l-l-l-o, I-I-I h-h-hop-p-pe y-you d-d-d-don't-t-t-t m-min-n-nd m-me p-p-pas-s-s-s-s-s-sing o-out i-in y-y-your sh-sh-shop." Theo then promptly passed out from being out in the cold for so long.

"_Theo? Theo is that you? Wake up Theo! Wake up."_ The brunette was brought out of the darkness of unconsciousness by a familiar, dulcet voice. His eye lids fluttered open then closed again. Theo was able to slowly open his eyes to see a concerned brunette hovering over him.

"H-Hermione?"

"Theo! You're awake!" The young woman helped him slowly sit up. Blaise was in the background, preparing a cup of tea for the now conscious brunette. Draco was helping the dark haired man.

"Hermione? It _is_ you. What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting out the storm. Are you alright? What happened?" The concerned Hermione helped Theo to her previously occupied table and lowered him into a chair.

"I was running an errand for Marie when the blizzard hit and I got caught in it."

"Marie? How is she nowadays? I haven't seen you or either of your siblings since Marie's sweet sixteen."

Theo chuckled to himself. _"Ah, good times."_

"You three are the owners of _Ire's Sodas,_ correct?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. And business is booming as they say." Theo answered as he gladly took the cup of tea from Blaise. The brunette muttered a quick thanks and continued his conversation with his old friend.

Draco watched from behind the coffee counter as Hermione talked with her apparent friend. His gaze traveled from the brunette to the other brunette. His brow furrowed. Who was this man? How did he know Hermione? Well whoever he is, he was leaning a little too much towards the young woman for his tastes.

His glare darkened when Hermione laughed at something the other male said. Deciding that the newcomer had been the center of her attention long enough he sauntered over to the two.

"Hermione, who is your friend?" Draco asked, a fake smile gracing his perfect face.

"Ah, Draco! This is Theo Nott an old friend of mine. Theo, meet Draco Malfoy, he's taking refuge from the blizzard as well." Theo and Draco turned to each other and gave each other curt bows.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Theo." Draco said with only the slightest twitch of his eye.

"Same here Draco." The businessman could have sworn he saw a bit of a psychotic glint in Theo's obviously fake smile.

Hermione missed the electricity that flashed between the two males as she took a sip of her Chai Tea. _"This is absolutely delicious. I have to ask Blaise for the recipe." _

Blaise, however, saw it all. _"Hmm…A love triangle. This could get interesting." _A plan formed in the dark haired man's head, and a somewhat sinister grin appeared behind his scarf. He sneaked over to the table, unnoticed by the glaring blond and brunette and the girl brunette lost in a heaven called Tiger Spice Chai Tea. He placed himself behind Hermione and waited for her to bring the cup to her lips. When she did, he _accidentally _bumped her shoulder, effectively causing the tea to spill. She jumped up to try and avoid the burning liquid.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Hermione!" The males both rushed to help the brunette.

"Hermione! Allow me!"

"Hermione! Let me help you!"

"It's ok guys, I just need to go to the restroom and clean up." Hermione assured them. She asked Blaise to direct her to the restroom then left.

Theo and Draco resumed their glaring at each other. Blaise noticed the tension.

"I'll just go and clean up in the back." The dark haired man moved so fast, a dust cloud suspiciously shaped like a man was left behind.

The silence lasted for a moment before Theo sighed.

"Ok, Malfoy. It's apparent that we both have feelings for Hermione." Theo sighed also and his shoulders slumped.

"Yes, you are right. What do you suppose we should do?"

"First tell me how much you like Hermione."

Draco looked up at him, a blush evident upon his cheeks. "I guess you could say it was love at first sight. And you?"

Theo also blushed. "I've loved Hermione ever since we were young, I just never said anything."

"So what do we do? I doubt that either of us will lose our feelings for Hermione."

They were both silent again.

"Well," Theo started, causing Draco to look up at him. "We could…um."

"Yes?"

"Share her?"

"…"

"…"

"Excuse me?"

"Well it _is_ Christmas eve-"

"Actually, it's 7 am Christmas morning." Blaise interjected. The two looked over at him and he quickly ducked back behind the counter.

"As I was saying, it _is_ Christmas. So…Why don't we share Hermione? You know until she chooses one of us."

"Hmmm…I guess I could agree to that. But what if she ends up liking us both the same amount?"

"What if she already does?" The two both whirled around to look at the brunette that had suddenly appeared.

Hermione had cleaned herself up quickly and went back to join Draco and Theo once more.

"First tell me how much you like Hermione." She stopped short when she heard Theo. She hid herself behind the corner of the hallway that led to the restrooms and storage room of the shop. The brunette peaked around the corner to listen in on their conversation, intrigued.

"I guess you could say it was love at first sight. And you?" A blush burned at Hermione's cheeks. _"Draco loves me?"_

"I've loved Hermione ever since we were young, I just never said anything." The tint of the blush darkened. _"Theo loves me too? How do I feel about both of them? I think I love Draco and Theo also…oh dear what am I going to do?" _Hermione thought to herself.

She turned back to the blond and brunette and continued to listen in on their conversation.

"So what do we do? I doubt that either of us will lose our feelings for Hermione." Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

There was a moment of silence before they started talking again.

"Well, we could…um." Theo began.

"Yes?" Draco asked.

"Share her?" Hermione blinked.

"…"

"…"

"Excuse me?"

"Well it _is_ Christmas eve-"

"Actually, it's 7 am Christmas morning." Blaise interjected. Hermione looked over to the dark haired man, hoping he didn't notice her.

"As I was saying, it _is_ Christmas. So…Why don't we share Hermione? You know until she chooses one of us." Theo's statement startled Hermione but she didn't feel mad at thought of the men sharing her.

"Hmmm…I guess I could agree to that. But what if she ends up liking us both the same amount?" As Draco was asking this she came out of her hiding spot and stopped behind them.

"What if she already does?" She said. The two both whirled around to look at her.

"Hermione! H-how much of our conversation did you here?" Theo asked nervously. Draco just sat there, appalled at the idea of the brunette overhearing what they had previously been talking about.

"I heard most of it actually." She said. The men's heads drooped.

"But don't worry boys," she winked, "I have the same amount of feelings for each of you." They both brightened simultaneously.

Hermione leaned forward and gave them each a small peck on the cheek.

"Look at that," Blaise said suddenly, "The blizzard's over!"

Draco, Theo and Hermione looked over to the door of the shop.

Sure enough the sun was shining through the glass.

Excitedly, Hermione jumped up and made her way to the door.

Halfway there she turned to the men. "Well, you coming boys?" Draco and Theo looked at each other and smirked. _"This might actually work." _They both thought to themselves. They took their places on either side of Hermione and looped arms with her.

Once more, Hermione gave them each a kiss on the cheek, and they each gave her one in return.

Not long after the three were gone a dark haired woman walked in.

"Blaise?" The addressed man looked up.

"Ah, Karlakins! Did you get what you needed?"

"Yes, yes I did. And what did you do while I was gone?" She asked as she gave her fiancé a kiss.

"Oh nothing much, just observed a little Christmas love." Karla looked up at him.

"Hmm…Sounds like you had fun. Merry Christmas, honey."

"Yep, I sure did. Merry Christmas to you too, love." He grinned behind his mask.

Not far from the small coffee shop, the new trio were thinking to themselves.

"_I guess I'm going to have to thank Marie for sending me out to get that…eggnog. Shit! I forgot the eggnog!" _Theo looked over to the brunette beside him and decided that he wouldn't want to miss her smile for anything. _"Marie can deal with it for now, she can just send Allan if she really wants it."_

"_Mother, Father, Grandmother Beatriz, you three don't have to worry about me being lonely during the holidays."_ He glanced at Hermione and his new friend. _"For I now have a someone to love and a new companion to share her with."_

Hermione looked from the blond to her left to the brunette on her right, contentment and joy blazed through her like a flame in a forest.

She didn't plan on choosing between the two and was perfectly fine with them 'sharing' her. Just so long as no major conflicts aroused. _"I guess Christmas isn't as bad as I thought."_


End file.
